Viewpoint
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, OCT. 14, 2013
Follow the lead
TECHNICIAN ONLINE POLL LAST WEEK’S QUESTION:
Have you been affected by the government shutdown?
59%
Yes
TECHNICIAN
The unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s editorial board, excluding the news department, and is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief.
T
hroughout recent years, a number of important legislative and administrative changes have had drastic effects on our education system. Many of these changes could have, and should have been subjected to widespread public scrutiny on the part of the student body. Nonetheless, as of late, students have been growing more apathetic and willing to sit back and accept things that are detrimental to their interests. This has led The Technician to call on students to organize, take action and make their voices heard. In the past many of these calls have gone unanswered. However, there are exceptions
41%
No
to this growing trend of apathy. We commend the members of Fossil Free NCSU who recently organized to fight for their cause—reducing N.C. State’s dependence on fossil fuels—by joining the nationwide movement, protesting investors, such as Bank of America and Citibank, that are funneling money into industries that contribute to the degradation of the environment. We believe the members of Fossil Free NCSU have done more good than they may know. Not only did they work to advance their cause, they also set an example of how students should act in the face of anything they deem unjust or unacceptable.
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Are you excited about the opening of the first phase of the Talley Student Union? To answer, go to technicianonline.com
A
Is annoying airport security annoying enough?
9-year-old boy snuck onto a Delta flight by himself two weeks ago. The boy not only made it through airport security, but he also found a way to get through the boarding line and onto t he pla ne. And, apparently, he did it all without Megan a boarding Ellisor pass. Viewpoint Editor The f light crew finally became suspicious of the child’s circumstances during the flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas, according to Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In a statement, Hogan said crew members turned the boy over to Child Protective Services in Las Vegas. But the boy, whose identity has not been released, has had other run-ins with the law. About a month ago, police arrested him for stealing a car. He once snuck into a Bloomington water park by slipping in behind large families. And the day before he found his way onto Delta Flight 1651, he surveyed the airport environment by pulling another trick. The boy stole luggage from baggage claim before eating at an airport restaurant. According to New York Daily News, he then asked the server to watch his luggage while he went to the restroom. He never returned to pay the bill.
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IN YOUR WORDS
The boy is as youthful and scheming as Kevin McCallister from Home Alone and as conniving as Frank Abagnale Jr. from Catch Me If You Can. “I don’t have an angel, OK. I have a 9-year-old,” the boy’s father said. That’s one of the scariest parts about this whole scenario—the boy is only nine. But even scarier is the fact that he could sneak onto a flight at all. Airports, with their extensive securit y checks, seem like they should be some of the safest and most secure locations of all. Officials usually ask to see boarding passes both before the security check and before boarding the plane. The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that the boy snuck through security with other passengers. It’s possible that the boy only got through security because of his age. TSA agents may have made the usually reasonable assumption that he, as a child, was part of a larger group. But regardless of his age, someone at the airport should have caught onto him before the flight took off. After he made it through security, he still had to find his way past another boarding pass check at the gate. According to Hogan, a surveillance video shows that the boy snuck in when the gate agent became distracted. And even after that, the flight crew is supposed to take a head count to ensure that
the number of passengers on board match up with the number of boarding passes scanned. That’s three opportunities that airport, airline and TSA staff missed. “All of this (security) since 9/11 has been to keep us safe. And it has, but we still have gaping holes, and this is a perfect example of it,” Terry Trippler of ThePlaneRules. com told KARE, a CNN affiliate. The TSA recently relaxed some of its rules. It now allows kids under the age of 12 to keep their shoes on while walking through the security check. And in March, the TSA revealed its plan to start allowing knives, toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks and other currently prohibited items onto airplanes. This was met with protests, and the TSA has since dropped the effort. Still, both of these actions suggest that airports are so safe that they require less regulation than they currently enforce. This contradicts the incident with the 9-year-old boy, which demonstrates the imperfection of the TSA’s security measures. Sure, we should be grateful that the boy was a boy and not a terrorist. This particular event’s lack of violence doesn’t mean we can count on other events to not be violent—but I would hope that we could count on the TSA.
“I think it is a good concept, but I know that if I did it I would probably never come back.” Melissa Freudenberg freshman, biology
“I don’t think people should take a year off because my brothers did and once they went back to college it was very difficult for them to get back into school work.” Chase Shipp freshman, First Year College
Fear of Flying, 40 Years Later
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his week marks the 40th anniversary of Erica Jong’s novel Fear of Flying, heralded as a defining milestone in feminist text and the free expression movement. Justine Within the Schnitzler book, Jong Guest Columnist ex plores a character who is emotionally damaged and trapped in a loveless marriage. The female protagonist manages to find liberation both sexually and mentally while traveling abroad, with a man who is not her husband. In marking the anniversary, the ramifications of the publication of such a sensational, brash declaration of sexual freedom are being evaluated by many in the literary critique field. Just this weekend, while home on break, I read an opinion piece in Star News that blamed Jong’s writing for the supposed downward slide of the moral standards of women across the U.S.. He spoke of Jong’s writing as a catalyst for the existence of the Kardashian sisters and Miley’s now infamous “twerk.” This particular columnist fails to realize that the most extreme example of fe-
male media portrayal is not the norm and is certainly not the byproduct of sexual liberation as described in Fear of Flying. Here’s the truth: Erica Jong did not invent sex, female desire and certainly not the female orgasm. The publication of her novel did not lead to millions of women making an exodus from their husbands to find affairs. She did not single-handedly cause pop culture to accept sub-par performance art, and she certainly did not facilitate the double standard of what is acceptable female or male behavior in media. Fear of Flying is not significant because it described sex with unrestricted language and tackled topics considered taboo for most of the last century (although those are noteworthy qualities of the text). Fear of Flying is significant because it was published at all. It was written by a women for women— not as an instruction manual, but to validate women being sexual creatures in any form: whether happily married, reserved, single or involved in non-traditional romantic pursuits. Jong didn’t declare
that her female readers had to follow the route to liberation and satisfaction her particular character did, she only insisted that they recognized what was best for themselves. So where are we now, 40 years past the initial publication? We have Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and endless examples of over-sexualization, or at least sexual behavior in poor taste. But we also have women across the nation who are now unafraid of their own sexuality, in whatever manifestation that may take. TIME Magazine has labeled Fear of Flying as one of the “top 10 raciest novels of all time,” and in noting the anniversary, listed the most famous quotes from the novel. I will leave you with one: “The trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” That quote in context may relate to diving into an affair, but it can also be applied to any scenario. The beauty this novel’s publication and existence is that your decisions regarding the principles contend therein are not spelled out to you — they are entirely yours to make.
“Yes. I went to an early college, and after I graduated with my high school diploma and associates degree, I took a year off and went to Seattle where I worked with this awesome company. I was a lead volunteer for the Seattle marathon, and with that on my resume, I have been able to generate interest from potential employers.” Anthony Williams freshman, engineering
“It depends on the person. I have friends who have taken gap years and have gotten real world experience that solidified what they wanted to do with their lives.” Dylan Welchman junior, undecided
“I think it can be okay to take a gap year between college and grad school because college is vigorous and a break could be good.” Hannah Lee sophomore, biology
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Is it a good idea for students to take a gap year between high school and college or college and graduate school?
BY MOLLY DONOVAN
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Technician (USPS 455-050) is the official student newspaper of N.C. State University and is published every Monday through Friday throughout the academic year from August through May except during holidays and examination periods. Opinions expressed in the columns, cartoons, photo illustrations and letters that appear on Technician’s pages are the views of the individual writers and cartoonists. As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Copyright 2011 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.